1850 American Gold Tycoon

Chapter 618 If you become ruthless, even you will be able to balance yourself

Returning to his residence in Washington, by the light of a kerosene lamp, Lincoln bent over his desk and drafted a list of Republican cabinet members on a piece of paper.

But after writing the list, Lincoln was not satisfied with the list and kept writing and revising it. After wasting more than thirty sheets of paper. Lincoln finally confirmed the list of cabinet members: Seward, Chase, Jude, Bates, Dayton, Blair, and Wells.

Lincoln knew that his foundation was still shallow. He was able to become president not because his abilities were recognized by Republican leaders, but because his competitors such as Seward and Cameron made mistakes. of.

If he wants to build a relatively successful and efficient government, he must obtain the affirmation and support of Republican leaders such as Seward and Chase.

So Lincoln put Seward and Chase's names first.

The Republican Party is more united than the Democratic Party, which is why the Republican Party was able to win the election this time, but this does not mean that the Republican Party is a very united party.

There are also many factions within the Republican Party, and there are sharp conflicts and conflicts between different factions.

The formation of the cabinet this time was a great test for Lincoln. It was a test of how Lincoln could appease and balance the forces of all parties, so as to unite the Republican Party with relatively low cohesion, so as not to follow the path of the Whigs, who had three feet of grass on their graves. .

The next day, Lincoln announced the list to top members of the Republican Party at the Republican Victory Convention.

Although Lincoln had done his best to look after the interests of everyone, there were still some people who were dissatisfied with the list of cabinet members announced by Lincoln.

The voices of dissatisfaction mainly came from former members of the Whig Party, while members of the former Democratic Party who thought they had taken advantage were satisfied with Lincoln's list.

After the meeting, former Whig members such as Seward, Bates, and Dayton came to Lincoln with resentment.

Dayton was the first to bear the brunt and complained directly to Lincoln: "This list is unfair. We can understand that some positions in the cabinet should be reserved for people from other parties, but why do four of the seven positions belong to the former Democratic Party?" Man, we old ex-Whigs only have three spots?”

Although these former Democrats and former Whigs now identify as Republicans, the Republican Party has little foundation and has not achieved any decent results other than winning the election.

Therefore, they do not have a high sense of identity with the Republican Party, and they care very much about their former party identities, and use this to form different factions.

"Dayton, you seem to have forgotten someone." Lincoln said to the complaining Dayton in a very gentle manner with a smile on his face.

"Forgot someone?" Deighton wondered what Lincoln meant.

"You forgot about me." Lincoln approached the former Whigs who gathered around him to complain. "I am also a member of the former Whigs. In a sense, the president is also a member of the cabinet. A member of the cabinet, isn’t this list of people fair?”

Seward, Bates, Dayton and others, after hearing that Lincoln admitted his identity as a former Whig party member, did not object to Lincoln's list and left with satisfaction.

"Your Excellency, I think it must have taken you all night to finalize this list." After the former Whigs gathered around Lincoln dispersed, Jude walked up to Lincoln and said to him .

Although there were only seven simple names on the list published by Lincoln, Lincoln's old friend Jude saw the mystery behind these seven names.

Lincoln not only tried to balance the former Whigs and former Democrats, but also balanced the different regions.

William Seward and William Dayton came from New York and New Jersey from the Northeast.

Gideon Walls was from Connecticut, New England, and Salmon Chase and Norman Jude himself were from the Midlands.

Edward Bates and Montgomery Blair came from marginal slave states.

Lincoln was not too partial to his old friends in Illinois. Basically, Lincoln took care of the interests of different regions within the Republican Party's sphere of influence.

"The old guys in Illinois still understand me." Lincoln was very pleased and said in a joking tone, "There is only one place left for Illinois in the cabinet. You old guys in Illinois won't blame me for burning bridges, right?"

Illinois was the first state that Lincoln won. Lincoln stayed in Illinois for many years and he still had deep feelings for Illinois.

"The fact that Illinois can have a quota in the cabinet is enough to prove that you value us old guys from Illinois." Jude smiled and said. Jude was not being weird. The cabinet is not the Senate. It is impossible to do everything. Each state has a cabinet member.

The fact that Lincoln was able to bring an acquaintance of his from Illinois into the cabinet showed that Lincoln was not a person who forgot his roots and that he still valued these old friends from Illinois.

If more Illinoisans are allowed into the cabinet, I'm afraid people from other places will also have opinions and think that Lincoln is too partial to Illinois.

As an old friend of Lincoln for many years, Jude can still understand Lincoln's current difficulties.

"I wish you old guys could understand my painstaking efforts." Lincoln gently patted Jude on the shoulder and said.

"You have overlooked a very important position," Jude asked Lincoln. "Who are you going to make Vice President, Seward?"

"What I just said to Dayton and the others, they will definitely brag in front of others, saying that I am a former Whig president." Lincoln said with a helpless smile, "Although I left the Whig Party very early , but the label of ex-Whig on me is not something I can take off if I want to.

There is no doubt that Seward is qualified to serve as Vice President based on his ability. But Seward was a former Whig, and it was more appropriate for the vice president's position to be reserved for a former Democrat. "

"So do you have a suitable candidate for vice president now?" Jude, a former member of the Democratic Party, nodded with satisfaction and asked curiously.

"Hannibal Hamlin." Lincoln said without hesitation, "I am a middlelander and a former Whig. The position of vice president is naturally reserved for easterners and former Democrats. Hannibal Hamlin Hamlin is a perfect fit as vice president."

Speaking of the vice president, Lincoln actually had a more suitable vice president in his mind, but it was a pity that this person was not a Republican. He is the leader of another political party.

"You are so cruel that you even balance yourself." Jude couldn't help teasing Lincoln when he heard this, and asked with some worry, "How do you plan to appease Seward? After failing to be elected president on behalf of the Republican Party, Seward has been He is very depressed and always looks unhappy. And with Siward’s status, he will definitely not be willing to be your subordinate.”

Jude's worry is not unreasonable. People from famous families like Seward and Blair may not be willing to be driven by a grassroots kid from Lincoln. This is a shame for them.

"Seward has rich political experience and is a very suitable candidate for Secretary of State." Lincoln said very clearly.

"You have only announced the candidates for seven cabinet members, and several positions are vacant. Do you want to invite representatives from other regions to join the cabinet?" Jude asked.